It immediately stood out because, unlike previous iterations of the show's logo, this one is covered in greenery. Here's a look at logos released by AMC for each of the show's nine seasons.

Various logos AMC has released on keyart for "The Walking Dead" each season.
AMC, composite by Kirsten Acuna/INSIDER

It's also a stark difference from the wear and tear of the decaying logo viewers see during the show's opening credits each season.

Every two or so seasons, a little more of "The Walking Dead" logo would start to disappear on the show's opening credits. That's not the case with season nine.
AMC, composite by Kirsten Acuna/INSIDER

As seen above, the show logo for each season usually differs from the one seen in the opening credits. But that's not the case this year. AMC confirmed to INSIDER this is also the logo viewers will see on screen during the show's opening credits.

New showrunner Angela Kang explained the reason behind the change to INSIDER in a statement.

"In previous seasons, the logo in the main titles was gradually decaying along with the world and the zombies in the show," Kang said. "The solid stone letters overgrown with greenery in the season 9 logo reflects the fact that we're jumping into a new chapter of the story where our characters are rebuilding and nature is thriving — for better and worse."

So while the plant life signifies the sort of change Carl wanted to see in the world after his death, it's also indicative of nature taking over.

A new season nine synopsis released by AMC mentions that as Rick's extended group of survivors continues to rebuild civilization, many of the structures around them are continuing to crumble as "nature takes over."